Woman who rescued dog praised as hero, criticized as a thief
Visit
www.dogsdeservebetter.org for more information about Tammy Grimes
and her organization, Dogs Deserve Better.
By Caitlin Cleary
www.post-gazette.com
October 1, 2006 -
EAST FREEDOM, PA. -- In the 34 years she has lived on the quiet side street lined with modest, well-kept homes, Kim Eicher has always tried to mind her own business.
That is, until one recent rainy Saturday, when she looked out her front window and saw her neighbors' dog lying on its back in the mud. The old German shepherd mix was pawing the air, said Mrs. Eicher, trying but unable to get up on all fours.
She called 911, then her local humane society, and, finally, Tammy Grimes, an animal advocate from nearby Tipton whose work on behalf of dogs Mrs. Eicher had heard about through a co-worker's daughter.
That final phone call set in motion a contentious series of events that sparked passionate reaction from members of the animal-rights movement across the country.
Two days later, Ms. Grimes removed the dog, Jake, from his owners, Steve and Lori Arnold, placed him in an underground rescue or "safe house" located more than two hours away and renamed him Doogie. Ms. Grimes was arrested and will be tried for theft and receiving stolen property, said her attorney, Thomas M. Dicky, of Altoona.
The Arnolds, who could not be reached for comment, have said they want their dog back. They have described Jake as old and in poor health, and said he couldn't get up because of severe arthritis. In the days before he was taken, they contemplated getting him euthanized.
As per her instructions, Ms. Grimes' dutiful supporters jammed the phone lines of local law enforcement officials and the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society.
They wrote letters to the local paper, and rallied on the steps of the Blair County courthouse. "Inside Edition" cameras even showed up to film Doogie in his new environs. The arrest of Ms. Grimes has become a cause celebre for animal rights organizations across the country. She now is a finalist for Animal Planet's Hero of the Year.
Ms. Grimes' act has also shined the spotlight on the practice of dog-tethering, and on a piece of legislation that, for the past year, has been gathering dust before the Judiciary Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Mrs. Eicher did not anticipate all the ruckus, but she does not regret anything. Neighbors have come by and congratulated her for helping the Arnolds' dog.
Her husband, Bernie, however, is not happy about the situation, said Mrs. Eicher. He thinks the women should have gone through lawful channels. But as Mrs. Eicher explained, their emotions were running high that day.
"As you can see, I love animals, I have a dog, and I love her to death," said Mrs. Eicher, petting her Shih Tzu, Daisy. "As long as I've lived here, I've never caused anybody any trouble. It's not that I'm sticking my nose in. I just want to help if I can."
Mrs. Eicher called 911 soon after she saw the Arnolds' dog on the ground. The dispatcher instructed her to call the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society and leave a detailed message. She waited all day to hear back.
"I looked over there and occasionally [the Arnolds] would come out and look at the dog and turn and walk away. They did this off and on," said Mrs. Eicher. "I know there's not a lot of vets in on a Saturday, but it rained pretty much all weekend. They could have picked it up and put it in the garage."
She called Ms. Grimes, who in-structed Mrs. Eicher to call the humane society again. But as Monday morning came and went, Ms. Grimes decided to take some action.
She videotaped the dog squirming on the ground. The footage has since been posted on YouTube, and has been viewed tens of thousands of times. Mrs. Eicher can be heard sobbing in the background, as Ms. Grimes asks her, "Are you willing to witness if we absolutely have to go to court?"
Ms. Grimes detached the dog's collar and chain, and the women gathered up the dog in a blanket. "When we tried to pick it up, it growled and kind of snapped at us," said Mrs. Eicher. "It was pitiful, all wet and muddy."
Mrs. Eicher concedes she and Ms. Grimes "should have thought a little more" about taking the Arnolds' dog, but insists they did the right thing in helping what she called a "poor, defenseless animal."
Some moderate animal-welfare organizations, however, have taken a dimmer view of Ms. Grimes activism, calling it a kind of vigilantism.
"We are not talking about cases where pet owners believe that someone has saved their pet from almost certain death, but situations where animal activists have acted on their own authority against a pet owner's wishes," said Patti Strand, national director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, which includes farmers, hunters and animal breeders as well as pet owners and rescue groups. "Such rescues are seldom triggered by random acts of kindness or chance discoveries of abuse, but by committed activists who seek out cases of animal cruelty, and in some cases break the law to achieve their ends."
Ms. Grimes is unrepentant. Her nonprofit organization, Dogs Deserve Better, calls itself a "voice for chained and penned dogs" and lobbies for anti-tethering laws.
"I feel there's some inhumanity in tethering anything by the neck," she said in an interview at her home, where she keeps six dogs, five of them fosters.
"Most tethered backyard dogs get no exercise and no socialization with people, so they're very unhappy dogs. Dogs are the neediest animals on the planet; giving a dog food and water isn't enough. If you're not going to have a dog as a companion animal, why bother having it?"
Every day, people call in to Dogs Deserve Better from all across the country with the addresses of chained or penned dogs. Ms. Grimes mails a letter and an educational brochure to the owners; she said she sends out about 100 a month. Most people don't respond at all, she said. But she seldom gets a call about a dog in as bad a shape as Jake/Doogie.
Returning the dog is not a consideration for Ms. Grimes. She has little empathy for the Arnold family.
"I don't feel we'd give a child back to someone who was abusing it, so I can't in any good faith give a dog back to someone who let it lay on the ground for three days," she said. The vet she regularly takes her rescued dogs to has said, according to published reports, that Jake/Doogie was dehydrated, malnourished, weak, with numerous deformities of the spine and hips. Ms. Grimes feels the photos and video she took to document the alleged abuse will vindicate her.
She continues to press for legislation to outlaw the tethering and penning of dogs, and her arrest has elevated her cause to the national stage. Many communities around the country have enacted or are considering anti-tethering laws.
Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation prohibiting dog owners from tethering their animal for more than three hours. The crime is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or up to six months in jail.
Roanoke Rapids, N.C., a city of 16,000, adopted a law that went into effect last month banning the chaining of animals. The ordinance was drafted in response to pit bull attacks on a small child and an elderly woman last year; in both cases, the dogs had broken loose from their chains.
"So far, it has worked out OK and in the long run, it will be better for both the dogs and owners," said animal control officer Arthur Sizemore. "Most of the dogs are much happier now."
The law, however, has resulted in a number of residents surrendering their dogs to the city pound rather than purchasing the mandated lockable pens.
The Pennsylvania House bill reads, in part: "A person commits a summary offense if the person wantonly or cruelly tethers or pens a dog outside for a period exceeding 16 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period or violates any of the following provisions." It lists mandates of a 100-square-foot pen size, restrictions on choke, pinch, prong or chain collars, requirements for a 10-foot minimum tether length with swivels, among other standards.
The bill surely will run into opposition from agricultural-interest groups and rural communities, where dogs are more likely to be used for hunting and herding, and are more often kept outside.
John Bell, governmental affairs counsel for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, took issue with the bill's many requirements regarding enclosure size, and access to waterproof, windproof shelter and potable water.
"In many of these animal cruelty bills that are introduced, the bill calls for standards that are not well-defined or result in unreasonable or unfair standards imposed on animal owners, standards that really don't relate, in our humble opinion, to animal welfare," said Mr. Bell. "It's important that laws not only identify what does constitute animal cruelty, but what doesn't."
For its part, the National Animal Interest Alliance does not recommend chaining dogs in most situations, both for humane reasons and because of public safety issues in areas open to children. Still, said Ms. Strand, they would oppose a "one-size-fits-all sort of anti-tethering bill."
"Rural Americans with working dogs on the farm or in the field use methods of tethering that can be humane and appropriate in that environment," she said. "We see our role as helping pet owners by sharing our expertise, not by imposing our will on them, or by passing coercive legislation made in the shape of our conscience."
